With a rich caramel filled center, these chocolate treats are truly indulgent.

It wouldn’t be Halloween, in my opinion, without a candy bar or two. These healthy gluten free candy bars are low-glycemic, gluten-free and contain valuable protein, fiber and antioxidants. Plus, it’s my own version of the Twix candy bars I’ve known my entire life, but without the sugar or artificial ingredients.

Here’s a little tutorial on how to easily make your own homemade Twix candy bars. Well, it does involve a couple of steps, but it is totally worth it. These will definitely be out on the table during Halloween, along with my Midnight Kisses, as alternatives to packaged treats.

Although these homemade Twix candy bars are considered dark chocolate, you can use your favorite milk chocolate for the coating (just be aware of the sugar content). You can also simply add a little non-fat powdered milk to the dark chocolate mixture to make it milk chocolate, if desired.

Break apart the shortbread cookie crust into your pre-scored slices. Top the center of each rectangular cookie with 1 tsp. of caramel mixture and spread evenly. Repeat for each cookie. Place on wax paper and freeze for 10 minutes.

Applying the caramel…

After the 10 minutes, dip each cookie in the chocolate mixture, coating evenly. Allow excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl. Repeat, placing each cookie back on wax paper. Refrigerate overnight.

Makes at least 16 candy bars.

Shortbread Cookie Crust

Shortbread Cookies – They’re not perfect, but how boring would that be if they were?

Bring all ingredients to room temperature. Cream butter and xylitol/coconut palm sugar. Add egg white and liquid stevia, beating until well incorporated. Sift in dry ingredients and stir together to form a sticky dough. Refrigerate while preparing chocolate coating (see recipe below).

Once the dough is firm, place into the center of a parchment lined 8 inch square glass baking dish. With damp fingers, press the dough down to fill the entire dish, wetting your fingers with water when needed. Chill for 5 minutes. Score the dough with a knife or pizza cutter into 16 identical rectangles (or more, depending how ‘skinny’ you want your candy bars).

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F for 30 minutes, or until firm to the touch. Let cool. The crust will harden if refrigerated.

Create a double boiler by bringing a small amount of water to a boil in a small saucepan, placing a clean and dry bowl on top to cover. Add the shortening, chocolate and sweetener (do not use liquid stevia or powdered stevia extract–too bitter), stirring to melt. Set aside to cool as you make the caramel filling.

In a small saucepan, add cream, palm sugar and butter together. Stir together and bring to medium heat, allowing the butter to melt and the sugar to dissolve. Bring to a full rolling boil for 5 minutes, without stirring (while chanting “Double Double, Toil and Trouble”). Immediately remove from heat and let cool. Stir to smooth out any lumps in the mixture.

Okay, second attempt of melting the chocolate yielded smoother, but still it seems like the xylitol did not dissolve. The caramel and shortbread are delicious! Any hints on melting the chocolate? Thanks!

Sometimes the brand of xylitol can differ from manufacturer to manufacturer; however, if you are continuing to have a hard time with your powdered xylitol, use stevia or honey instead. If you can’t use honey, just use a non-bitter stevia extract or your favorite powdered sweetener. If you can, you can also experience with powdered erythritol, however I haven’t tried this.